THIS PAGE FEATURES A FEW OF THE BOATS BUILT BY THE ARQUES SCHOOL OVER THE LAST TWO DECADES, AND THOSE CURRENTLY UNDER CONSTRUCTION:
ONGOING EFFORTS TO ESTABLISH DOLPHIN'S ORIGINS
Dolphin's owner, Sid Foster (also spelled Syd), was an amazing guy. He was a champion swimmer at San Francisco's Dolphin Club in the 1920s, famous for swimming across the waters of the Golden Gate. This may explain why he so daringly raced on San Francisco Bay, unperturbed by its challenging more>>
Freda is the oldest sailboat on the West Coast. She was built in 1885 in Belvedere for local racing and yachting. Freda is owned by the Spaulding Wooden Boat Center in Sausalito. She was completely restored by the Arques School of Traditional Boatbuilding.
A Few Words About the Importance of Freda
Bob Darr, February, 2016
The French wmore>>
August 2000
Stem for the Tug Boat... made from Pepperwood
The "Don Arques" tug boat is the first motor-powered boat built at the Arques School. This vessel was designed around a large three-cylinder Hicks engine, one of Don Arques's favorite possessions.
The tug boat was designed by Bob Darr with the Traditional Boat Design Class. Local tumore>>
Black Cat was designed by Robert Darr in the Arques School's Design Program for use in sheltered waters. It is a fifteen foot long open catboat built with lapstrake planking, copper fastened. The boat was designed to be fast, maneuverable, and beautiful.
This is the first Black Cat. The raked, curved transom is made of local pepperwood, white oamore>>
Eleanor is a 21 foot long keel sloop designed by Robert Darr in the school's Traditional Boat Design Class. She is a stout double-ender suitable for day sailing around San Francisco Bay, or for ocean sailing. Eleanor is 3' deep with 6'8" of beam. She'll be rigged as a marconi sloop. Her contruction is plank on sawn and bent frames. The sawn frames,more>>